Life As We Know It
by Kay8
Summary: A collage of scenes from the lives of our two favorite lawyers. Pre-season nine.


**Summary: A collage of of scenes from the lives of our two favorite JAG lawyers.   
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, unfortunately.   
A/N: Really, this has no plot and no point, other than to showcase a collection of scenes I wrote. The usual same excuse applies for all spelling/grammar/etc errors. I know that italics are annoying to read, but for some reason wouldn't allow my double spacing, so that is what I resorted to to make things clear. Pleae keep in mind that I did not get a chance to see the a large majority of season nine (I know, shame on me!). Enjoy.**

I put down the book in frustration. I can't find a single solitary thing that'll help me on my case. The idiot of an officer erased the logs on the USS Leeway so that no one could find out he had used the radio to speak to his wife on another ship in the dead of night. Too bad Petty Officer Jones had heard him. Too bad I got stuck defending him.

No, Mac, think positive. I'm defending him, not figuring out how much of an idiot the man is. I'm totally exasperated at this point, knowing that the case it pointless and I'm spending way too much time figuring out what to do. I should just offer a plea bargain.

What I really want now is a big bucket of ice cream to drown my bit of irritation. Nothing like chocolate mint when you really need it. Nothing like chocolate mint to make you gain all those calories you lost while jogging with Harm this morning.

It's almost lunch. I guess I could go out and buy myself some ice cream from the café a few blocks down. That way, I could lose extra pounds by walking, then eat the ice cream and end up just where I started from. I realize that I'm losing it, worrying so much about my weight. Since when have I turned into Harm?

Speak of the devil, he's just walked in, flashing me a quick flyboy smile.

"Don't you knock?" I ask, my normal phrase becoming subconscious.

"Want to go for some ice cream?" How did he do that? He must've seen my face because he asks, "What?"

"I was just thinking about walking down to that café down the street."

"You're rubbing off on me," he replies, leaning against the doorframe. He's referring to my strange sense of ESP. I glance at him and can see Harriet looking at us from the copier. I pretend not to notice.

"You wish," I tell him, standing up and shutting the book on my desk "If I gain so much as a pound after this trip I'm blaming it on you."

He raises his eyebrows. "After I listened to you complain all this morning while running?"

"I told you," I said, scrounging for some money, "my shoes were uncomfortable."

"Aren't they always?" he asked a bit smugly. I turned around to tell him off. He held up his hands, giving him a look that said, 'You're the one who said it'. He turns around to say something to Tiner, who just passed by. I pick up the five dollar bill lying on my desk (after all that looking...) and hurriedly follow my partner.

_"We're partners in law, nothing more Sturgis," Harm said, then sipped his coffee. _

_"We're more than that, sailor," I tell him. Sturgis and Harm both look at me with surprised faces. "We're also partners in crime."_

_"Here, here." Harm agrees, raising his mug toward me. I smile at him from behind my own coffee as a bewildered Sturgis looks between us. _

"I know what you're thinking," he says, chopping the carrots neatly.

"How would you know what I'm thinking?" I retort.

Okay, stupid question to ask. I can tell he thinks so, too. He gives me a look and says, "Mac." I've been through more with Harm than anyone else. We can say things to each other without talking. He damn well knows what I'm thinking.

"I know what you're thinking," he repeats.

"What if I decided to go spontaneous?"

"You?" he asks. He stopped cutting his carrots. "Spontaneous? Never thought you'd say that."

"See? You didn't think I'd say that. I just went spontaneous," I say in a matter-of-fact voice. He turns to me to say something witty when I shove a spoon of my soup into his mouth. He chokes then swallows, nodding in approval.

_Finally I hear Chloe's voice on the other end. After a near minute of waiting someone finally picked up, and luckily it was Chloe. I'm relieved and thrilled to hear her voice again. _

_"Hi!" I practically yell into the receiver. I realize I'm at JAG in my office and it's relatively quiet around, but I haven't seen Chloe in a few weeks. Surely Admiral Chegwidden will understand. _

_"Mac?" she asks._

_"Yeah. What's up!"_

_The conversation carries on for a few minutes before Harm comes in. Chloe and I had been talking about irrelevant things, catching up on times like normal. That's when Chloe tells me, "I've got a boyfriend." That's also when Harm walks in._

_I choked on the coffee I was drinking. Harm stops walking into my office and Chloe stops talking. _

_"Mac?" they say at the same time. _

_I set my cup of coffee on the desk and urge Chloe to go on with her story. Harm, before Chloe can get started with her tale, interrupts. _

_"Coffee that bad, Colonel?" he says with a sly grin on his face. _

_"Is that Harm?" Chloe asks on the other end of the phone. I roll my eyes. _

_"Yes it is, lucky me. When did you pick up this boyfriend?" I ask, doing my best to ignore the looks Harm is giving me. _

_"A few days ago. He's really nice and we went to the movies yesterday...with some people, of course. Dad's totally cool with it," Chloe says. I can imagine her face on the other end._

_"Where did you meet him?" Harm is still listening. I put my hand over the receiver and say to him, "Get lost!"_

_"Can't I listen on this girl talk?" _

_I'm about to reply when Chloe calls my name. I give Harm a dirty look and turn my attention back to Chloe. "I'm sorry, Harm's being an idiot. What did you say?"_

_"Never mind. So, gotten your hands on Harm yet?" Damn, there goes my coffee again. Harm gives me a bewildered look. _

_"Chloe!" _

_"Mind if I put it on speaker phone?" Harm asks innocently so I almost don't notice him reaching for the button on my phone. _

_"Don't," I warn, perfectly aware of what might happen if Chloe got to talk to Harm. With Harm's questioning skills and Chloe's gossiping skills, I would be mortified. _

_"Mac? What's going on?"_

_"I'm sorry, it's Harm again."_

_"Should I call later?"_

_"No, look, hold on a minute while I deck Harm. All right?"_

_"Right. Slap his b-."_

_"Chloe, just hold on," I insist, then put her on hold. Now Harm is standing in front of me. I walk around my desk and stand in front of him. I'm trying really hard not to do things to Harm that the Admiral would fire me for. "What do you want?" I ask finally. _

_"I just wanted lunch," he said, shrugging. Then he leaned in and whispered, "See you around, Marine." _

_He is gone just like that. I can still feel his breath on my cheek when I go back to talk to Chloe. _

_"What happened?" she asks when I take her off hold._

_"Nothing," I lie._

I'm early. I cannot believe that for once in my life I've managed to get in early to work. Of course, once I get off the elevator and into the bullpen I find that it's empty. Great. No one's here to witness this extraordinary event.

Well, I take that back. There's a light in Mac's office. I wander over there without stopping in my own office. I don't even knock; she knows I don't.

"What are you doing here so early Marine?" I ask. "It's only like 0630."

"It's 0615, and the bigger question is why you're here this early," she replies, looking up from her desk. I notice she isn't working on anything.

"The desk is that interesting, huh?" I say, walking around her desk to stand next to her.

"What?" she asks. I notice that she looks tired.

"You all right Mac?"

She grins softly. "I don't see how you manage to care so early." I don't answer her question. I don't want to get sentimental at the office. Not to mention that it's incredibly early. The answer is obvious to me. I try not to feel beaten by her question.

"You look like hell, Mac. What's up?"

Now she laughs a little. "Thanks. You know, the one time I want to be alone and sit you just have to come in early."

"It's my incredible timing." She gives me a look and I try to stay serious. Something's definitely up. "So?" I prod. She'll probably deck me as soon as this is over.

"I just feel off, that's all." She smiles warily. "My biological clock is going off again." Her eyes are avoiding mine. She's looking everywhere but at me.

"Are you hitting the snooze button? Again?"

Her eyes finally land on me. She doesn't answer right away. I realize that I'm holding my breath and scold myself silently. I'm rewarded with her smile. "I hope not."

_I make my way outside. It's nice outside for early April. It's usually pouring, but for once the sun has decided to shine. In my hand are two vanilla yogurts and two plastic spoons. My eyes scan for my partner. _

_I see him leaning over the table, scribbling on a legal pad with his pen. I drop myself into the chair across from him, shoving the yogurt and spoon at him. He doesn't look up while taking the yogurt from me and ripping it open. He stops writing but he still reads whatever he has on the notebook. I look at the notebook. There are barely two lines taken up._

_"Creative juices not flowing, sailor?" I ask innocently, tearing away the top of my yogurt. I try not to smile._

_He looks up with his eyes, his head staying bent low. "Didn't think you needed creative juices to write your closing argument."_

_"Of course you do," I reply, relishing the smooth yogurt. "You gotta have wit and charm...oh, sorry," I say, faking a wince, "That's a sore spot for you, isn't it?"_

_"Do you spend a lot of time thinking up those responses?" he asks, pushing the pad away from him and concentrating on his yogurt. _

_"No, they come to me." I glance at him shoveling yogurt into his mouth. "Harm, are you telling me that we actually like the same kind of food?"_

_He looks at me, then down at his yogurt. "I like it as long as its not loaded with fat or flavored with meat."_

_"Burgers top your meatless meatloaf any day," I reply honestly. His meatloaf was nasty, there was no doubt about it. I glance at Singer as she sits a few tables away from us. _

_"Opinion," Harm says, pointing his spoon at me._

_Luckily, Singer isn't too far away. I call out to her and she looks up, annoyed. What else is new? "Would you like to try some meatless meatloaf?" I ask her. Her face screws up in disgust. _

_"Sounds unnatural," she says with the air of superiority. It doesn't bother me just then. I'm enjoying the look on Harm's face as I smile smugly at him. _

I unlock my apartment door and allow Mac to step through before me. I close the door and locked it. Mac is sitting on my couch, taking off her heels and rubbing her feet, grimacing.

"Uncomfortable shoes?" I joke, setting my briefcase on the floor.

"Funny," she says, but I know she doesn't take it seriously. Looking at her, I'm glad I invited her for dinner after long hours at the office. I don't expect much out of this visit; it's just a friendly dinner at my place. At least that's what I keep telling myself.

"What do you want for dinner?" I ask her. Inside my kitchen cabinets I find that I haven't gone shopping for a while now. All I can find are some greens and ingredients for a vinaigrette. "Salad okay with you?"

She makes a disgusted noise. "Mr. Tofu is at it again." I ignore her and start making the salad. Neither of us say anything. After ten minutes, my awesome salad is complete and I walk around to the couch to find Mac sound asleep.

My eyes almost bug out. Her skirt is hiked up to mid thigh and I make myself look away. Quietly I set the salad and two bowls on the coffee table and kneel next to the couch. I shake her shoulder gently, trying not to stare at her legs.

She stirs, moans, then opens her eyes in surprise. She jumps and before I know it she's on the opposite side of the couch.

"Mac?" I ask, lifting myself onto the couch. She puts a hand to her chest.

"Sorry, you scared me."

"I scared the rough-and-tough marine?" My grin fades when she doesn't reply. Her eyes are darting around my apartment. I'm suddenly worried about her. "Mac, you all right?"

"Yeah...I'm just on guard, that's all," she tells me, her face relaxing. She glances at the salad on my coffee table and scrunches her nose up. "This is what I get after being stuck with you in the office all day?"

**Reviews are appreciated, as is constructive criticism.**


End file.
